The news that the level 38 elite dungeon had been discovered spread quickly.
While there’s meaning in the achievement score for first discovery, once someone discovers an elite dungeon, it’s revealed on the map, so everyone starts from the same condition if the seal hasn’t been broken yet.
[Yin-Yang Master ‘Chris’ (Online)]
-Rain must be busy preparing for the dungeon with party members from now on too. Unnie is also urging her party members and preparing. Let’s both do our best this time too!
I read the message that came from Chris.
A smile had already appeared on my lips without me realizing.
Comrade.
Friend.
An existence I had decided never to make again.
These days, I’ve started to think a little that Chris might be okay.
It was okay not to tell her about me. She didn’t ask about me either.
Chris just looked at me with warm eyes.
But she has party members to lead.
Chris unnie, thank you always.
I still want to go on alone a bit more.
Because this world seems to want something from me.
I replied to her with gratitude and a bit of apology so that my feelings could be conveyed sufficiently.
-Yes.
“Um, umm.”
Is a short answer too cold?
I, who never had occasions to use things like messengers, was clumsy at conveying feelings through text.
It seems like I should add something.
I added an emoticon I had seen on the internet at the end of the message.
🙂
* * *
I achieved level 38 too. I also figured out the entry condition for the next elite dungeon.
The tower in front of my eyes now is a solo dungeon in the Silva Plains area.
This dungeon that revealed itself simultaneously with the discovery of ‘Aspero’s Fortress’.
A tower that had been hiding its body in the mist behind the large forest area beyond Silva Lake.
[Entry Level 38]
[Solo Dungeon]
[Tower of Training]
“So it’s a dungeon where you can acquire skills.”
Although it hadn’t been open long and there was almost no information, there was a rumor that if you clear this tower, you can obtain new skills for each class.
Now that the next elite dungeon has revealed itself, I had to hurry too. I needed to build up my ‘inner strength’ so to speak.
The tower, whose appearance reminiscent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, was shrouded in mist, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
From the entrance of this tower, it’s a solo instance dungeon—a dungeon solely for me.
Until now, I had been clearing party play dungeons alone. A solo dungeon shouldn’t be that difficult.
[Tower of Training 1st Floor]
As I entered the tower, a wide circular space soon revealed itself.
Woong.
The magic circle installed in the center of the hall emitted light with a resonating sound, and something huge revealed itself.
“Kruk.”
A huge body that seemed more than three times the size of an adult human. A giant battle hammer shouldered on broad shoulders.
A being I had seen somewhere before.
The boss of the level 15 elite dungeon, ‘Orc King’.
“Oh, long time no see.”
I grinned. I seemed to understand the structure of this tower.
Pitter-patter.
I drew my sword, lightly rolled my feet, and then rushed towards it.
“Grrrrrr!”
Boom!
The Orc King let out a ferocious roar, and its huge body soared into the sky.
[Tower of Training 7th Floor]
“Kaaaak!”
The body of the demon ‘Zarkan’, slashed by my sword, disappeared turning into light with a death cry.
I sighed lightly.
“It’s definitely a solo dungeon.”
From the 1st to 7th floors of the Tower of Training, the named bosses I had encountered in elite dungeons so far appeared in order.
But they were beings with HP fitting the ‘Entry Level 38’ level range.
No trash mobs appear and the special patterns are also watered-down versions.
It seemed like any user who had been properly clearing elite dungeons so far could clear this without much difficulty.
Thump thump.
I cleared the Tower of Training to the 7th floor in an instant and then headed to the 8th floor.
[Tower of Training 8th Floor]
The being waiting for me on the 8th floor looked somewhat different from the opponents up to the 7th floor.
“Oh.”
It’s a person.
A middle-aged man with black hair, wearing steel armor.
The armor he wore was clearly different from the ceremonial armor of kingdom or empire knights.
The countless traces of battle engraved on the outside of the armor, which couldn’t be hidden even with maintenance, clearly revealed that he had gone through numerous battlefields.
A faint blue light swirled around the greatsword in his hand. A magic sword?
As I entered the hall of the 8th floor, his eyes, which had been narrowly closed, opened.
He soon looked at me straight on and slightly bowed his head.
“There was another person who climbed up to here. Nice to meet you, I am Jeff, the Warrior General of the Doal Kingdom.”
Bow.
I also bowed my head in response to his polite greeting.
‘Doal Kingdom’ is the name of the kingdom bordering Silva Plains.
Tower of Training.
This tower, where you can obtain new power if you reach its end, seemed to be a challenge not only for users but also for NPCs.
I smiled while making eye contact with him.
I see, so it’s a competition structure with NPCs.
“You too are a strong one who has climbed up to here, you must have immeasurable power behind that delicate body. I have no intention of conceding this place either.”
Swish.
The greatsword was held straight in his hand, and soon blue light began to emanate more strongly.
He slowly tensed his body and took a stance.
“Well then, I look forward to our exchange.”
[Level 38]
[Warrior General Jeff]
[HP 1,000,000/1,000,000]
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Warrior General Jeff’s heavy sword strikes definitely transmitted shock, even to my guard, which had greatly increased in specs.
The 4-hit combo of two horizontal strikes left and right, one diagonal strike, and then a strong upward slash was very threatening. If hit by the last upward slash and sent flying, there would surely be additional hits.
Even users who cleared the Tower of Training up to the 7th floor without much trouble might get a taste of their own medicine from Warrior General Jeff.
Still, he’s not a named boss from an elite dungeon. While he has a lot of HP for a human NPC, there should be an easy strategy.
Clang!
“Oh.”
I exclaimed as I confirmed that my Starlight Slash, launched head-on, was blocked by the Warrior General’s guard.
As expected of the Swordsman class, he knows how to guard.
If so.
I immediately put what I thought into action.
Thwack!
“Hut!”
Ducking my head to avoid the second sword strike of the 4-hit combo that came flying again, I planted my palm on the ground and launched a kick towards the Warrior General’s legs. Simultaneously, the Warrior General’s body staggered and lost balance. The combo was interrupted in the middle.
Pitter-patter!
My Starlight Slash, immediately unleashed, left several scars on the Warrior General’s armor.
The Warrior General quickly regained his posture and swung his sword strongly.
Clang!
Blocking the greatsword without much difficulty, I smiled with satisfaction.
Solo dungeon, NPC, humanoid.
It’s almost like PVP against a user. While he has threatening patterns, as long as he’s not a named boss, he’s definitely vulnerable to techniques that cause status effects.
If it’s hard to catch gaps in the attacks, you can inflict damage like this.
[Level 38]
[Warrior General Jeff]
[HP 484,027/1,000,000]
Clang!
“Ugh!”
The shoulder part of the Warrior General’s armor broke off. The armor, continuously hit by my sword, could no longer withstand the impact.
As expected, the Warrior General’s high HP was the durability value of the magic armor that disperses shock.
But his attacks don’t reach me. Even if it’s a threatening attack, if he can’t fully execute it, he’s just a sandbag.
But the Warrior General didn’t seem to have any intention of falling like this.
Woong.
Strong blue light emanated from his greatsword, and soon a cold energy began to rise from various places in the hall where the battle was taking place.
A special pattern using the magic sword?
I raised my sword vertically and focused on the Warrior General’s movements.
“Haaaaaap!”
A cold energy rose from his body, and he rushed towards me with a shout.
Thwack!
As I pulled my body out of the trajectory of the greatsword and tried to slash at the Warrior General’s legs, I felt something get stuck.
This is a similar feeling to when using status effect techniques on named bosses in elite dungeons.
I immediately sensed it. This attack can’t be interrupted.
Thud!
I quickly used backward evasion. I let the first three hits pass with invincibility judgment, and blocked the fourth hit.
Clang!
“Huk!?”
I tried to move my body to respond to the following vertical slash pattern, but suddenly my feet wouldn’t lift. The cold energy that had risen with the start of the special pattern had frozen the floor along with my feet without me realizing.
Clang!
I blocked the Warrior General’s greatsword in place while breaking out in cold sweat. Soon, his body shook leaving afterimages.
Counterattack.
Feeling a chill down my spine momentarily, I used Counterattack to meet him before his afterimage disappeared.
My frozen feet lifted, and my body was able to take the Warrior General’s rear.
Towards the Warrior General who had lost sight of me, I poured a shower of Starlight Slashes accompanied by the Vigor buff.
Clang clang clang! Pitter-patter!
“Kuk!”
The Warrior General struggled to maintain his posture and raised his greatsword, but the trajectory of my sword kept penetrating between his guards and continuously pounded his armor.
Clang!
“Kuuuuk!”
The sound of the Warrior General’s armor completely breaking off announced the end of the battle.
[Level 38]
[Warrior General Jeff]
[HP 10,000/1,000,000]
“Well, this has completely broken. It was armor I liked.”
“Uncle Jeff was super strong!”
Even I, with the lowest communication skills, can talk to NPCs—if you think they’re not real people anyway.
Jeff was certainly strong. If he hadn’t been bound by the system framework of a solo dungeon, he would have been much more threatening.
“Haha! You flatter me. You yourself have made me realize that I was a frog in a well within the kingdom.”
At his praise, I twisted my body bashfully.
The Warrior General, who was giving me a benevolent smile as if looking at a granddaughter, turned his body and walked down the tower.
“It was a good match. I hope you obtain the power you desire at the end of this tower.”
Jeff, he was a great warrior.
I think there might be a Warrior General Jeff fan club formed after many users pass through later.
* * *
[Tower of Training 9th Floor]
This is the top floor of the Tower of Training.
There was nothing in the hall of the 9th floor except for one magic circle.
Zing.
As I stepped onto the edge of the magic circle, I could see a light scanning over me once.
It wasn’t difficult to understand what this process meant.
The Tower of Training where you can acquire skills suitable for each class.
Although it’s still just a prediction, the form of the last named boss will probably differ according to each class too.
Woong.
The sound of the magic circle ringing was heard.
Swish.
I drew my sword and finished preparing to face the final boss of this tower.
Light gathered at the center of the magic circle. Soon, a human form within that light.
Flash!
With light bursting forth before I could react, a cold sensation brushed past my waist and.
“Oh.”
The world spun round and round.
The tower’s ceiling, air, and floor kept flashing by.
Is my body flying?
Between the rotating world, something slowly kneeling down came into view.
It was the lower body of a human.
There was no upper body.
Ah.
I got it.
Didn’t see.
Thud.
“Ku…hut!”
When I came to my senses, I was at the entrance of the 9th floor hall.
Thump thump thump thump.
My heart was beating violently.
I clutched my chest while kneeling, trying to calm my raging heart.
“Haa, haa… Phew.”
After a while, when my breathing and pulse returned to normal, my stopped thoughts started moving again.
Did I just… die?
The only fortunate thing might be that it was so instantaneous that there wasn’t even time to feel pain.
It’s really been a long time since I faced death. I hadn’t died even in the previous elite dungeon.
“Wh-what, on earth?”
In just a solo dungeon, an attack I couldn’t react to came out?
If I with 100% synchronization rate couldn’t react, no user could react.
What kind of- ridiculous monster.
I looked at the center of the 9th floor hall.
A figure still enveloped in light.
But, its form could be discerned even within the light.
It was the body of a small girl.
Hair falling past the shoulders.
The bangs slightly covering one eye area.
What was held in that hand was a familiar form of sword, called a holy sword.
And soon, a named boss information interface appeared before me.
[Level ??]
[Ancient Hero ■■■■]
[HP ???/???]